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The Fragile Art of Existence

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The Fragile Art of Existence
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 30, 1999
Genre
Length50:46
LabelNuclear Blast
Relapse Records (2010 reissue)
ProducerJim Morris, Chuck Schuldiner
Control Denied chronology
1999 demo
(1999)
The Fragile Art of Existence
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[1]
AllMusic[2]
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles9/10[3]
Chronicles of Chaos8/10[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[5]

The Fragile Art of Existence is the only studio album by Control Denied, a progressive metal band founded by Chuck Schuldiner. It was released worldwide on Nuclear Blast America in 1999. Metal Mind Productions reissued the album on April 15, 2008 (February 11, 2008 in Europe). The release was digitally remastered and limited to 2,000 copies. The album was again re-released in 2010 by Relapse Records, available in two-disc and three-disc editions. The three-disc edition was limited to 1,000 copies.

This was also Chuck Schuldiner's final studio album before he died of brain cancer on December 13, 2001.

Track listing

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All songs written by Chuck Schuldiner.

Original release
No.TitleLength
1."Consumed"7:24
2."Breaking the Broken"5:41
3."Expect the Unexpected"7:17
4."What If...?"4:29
5."When the Link Becomes Missing"5:17
6."Believe"6:10
7."Cut Down"4:50
8."The Fragile Art of Existence"9:38
Total length:50:46
2010 Relapse reissue (disc 2)
No.TitleLength
1."Consumed (1999 Demo)"6:40
2."When the Link Becomes Missing (1999 Demo)"5:20
3."The Fragile Art of Existence (1999 Demo)"9:30
4."Breaking the Broken (1999 Demo)"5:44
5."Breaking the Broken (1999 Demo) w/ Chuck Schuldiner on Vocals"5:45
6."Believe (1997 Demo)"6:16
7."What If...? (1997 Demo)"4:27
8."Cut Down (1997 Demo)"5:01
9."Tune of Evil (Comedy Demo)"3:15
Total length:51:58
2010 Relapse reissue (disc 3)
No.TitleLength
1."What If...? (1996 Demo)"4:25
2."Cut Down (1996 Demo)"4:54
3."Expect the Unexpected (1996 Demo)"6:37
4."Believe (1996 Demo)"6:08
5."The Fragile Art of Existence (1996 Demo)"8:25
6."What If...? (1996 Demo)"4:23
7."Expect the Unexpected (1996 Demo) w/ Chuck Schuldiner on Vocals"6:51
8."What If...? (1996 Demo) w/ Chuck Schuldiner on Vocals"4:25
9."Cut Down (1996 Demo) w/ Chuck Schuldiner on Vocals"4:53
Total length:50:58

Credits

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Additional musicians

  • Scott Clendenin – bass on 1996 and 1997 demos
  • Chris Williams – drums on 1996 and 1997 demos
  • Chuck Schuldiner – vocals on 1996 and 1999 demos

Production

  • Produced by Jim Morris & Chuck Schuldiner
  • Engineered, mixed & mastered by Jim Morris

Production

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The lineup that recorded Death's album The Sound of Perseverance (TSOP) (along with singer Tim Aymar) was originally intended to release the Control Denied album (and had completed the recording process), though bassist Scott Clendenin was let go in April 1999.[6] Schuldiner contacted frequent Death collaborator and bass player Steve DiGiorgio and requested that he record new basslines to replace the ones recorded by Clendenin. In some instances, DiGiorgio kept the bass lines recorded by Clendenin; he viewed it as a way to "return the favor", as Clendenin kept some of the bass lines that DiGiorgio played on the demos for TSOP.[7] Schuldiner remarked in a January 2000 Metal Maniacs interview that Clendenin "just didn't seem into it, I don't know if it was the material or what, but he didn't seem happy with what was going on, so we had to just let him go."[8]

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ About.com review
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ "Hardwares". Archived from the original on May 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Chronicles of Chaos review
  5. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  6. ^ "News 1999". Empty Words. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  7. ^ Vick, Kerry (November 1999). "Steve DiGiorgio and the new beginning of sorts". Empty Words. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Wagner, Jeff. "Talk About Perseverance..." Metal Maniacs. Retrieved June 30, 2024.